The government has received a green light to carry out technical studies into a controversial and mammoth reclamation plan off Lantau Island, thanks to a Legislative Council now dominated by pro-government lawmakers.

The HK$550 million (US$70.9 million) feasibility study for the Lantau Tomorrow project was approved by a vote of 33-2, with two lawmakers abstaining. Environmentalists and other opponents of the project feared that the reclamation will almost certainly be approved if the feasibility study received funding.

The whole project, which involves reclaiming up to 1,700 hectares of land between Hong Kong Island and Lantau, could cost HK$624 billion, according to estimates. Environmental groups and opposition lawmakers have strongly opposed Lantau Tomorrow, fearing an ecological disaster and an emptying of the government’s coffers.

However, most pro-democracy lawmakers resigned from Legco last month after four of their colleagues were disqualified as legislators. They were expelled partly because of a new offense – “collusion with foreign powers” – that was created under the recently enacted National Security Law. The legislature is now dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers, who passed the measure on Friday.

The city currently holds fiscal reserves of HK$1.1 trillion and the authorities are predicting a deficit of HK$300 billion in the current fiscal year following several rounds of business subsidies to counter the impact of COVID-19. Officials have said they are exploring various means of funding the Lantau project, and have not ruled out using taxpayers’ money.

Former pro-democracy lawmaker Jeremy Tam, who was among those who resigned last month, told reporters outside Legco before the vote that the project’s cost could balloon to HK$1 trillion, potentially drying up government reserves.

Officials claim that the sale of land on the new island will generate massive revenues for the government. But Tam warned against predicting the future demand for land in Hong Kong, given the current “brain drain” of talented people: land values may be very different when the new island is up and running, he said.

Observers have noted the government’s failure to secure land for affordable new homes from the 800 hectares of private brownfield sites in the New Territories.

Environmental groups have expressed “extreme disappointment” over the approval of the research funding, fearing that the reclamation will definitely happen.

Among the opposing environmental groups, both Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund urged the government to drop the plan altogether, to carry out a complete review of whether reclamation is necessary.

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